bookmobiles – Book Patrol: A Haven for Book Culturehttp://blog.seattlepi.com/bookpatrol
Book Patrol is a place where you can share in Michael Lieberman's passion for the printed word, the history of the book as an object and as a cultural artifact.Thu, 12 Nov 2015 20:16:44 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1After years of military rule books and hope are returning to Myanmarhttp://blog.seattlepi.com/bookpatrol/2014/11/10/after-years-of-military-rule-books-and-hope-are-returning-to-myanmar/
Mon, 10 Nov 2014 18:55:07 +0000http://bookpatrol.net/?p=7583The challenge is on: How might we leverage libraries as a platform to build more knowledgeable communities?http://blog.seattlepi.com/bookpatrol/2014/10/15/the-challenge-is-on-how-might-we-leverage-libraries-as-a-platform-to-build-more-knowledgeable-communities/
Thu, 16 Oct 2014 04:44:58 +0000http://bookpatrol.net/?p=6957Of Interest : Book Burning, a Bad Library Idea, Go-Sees, Riprap, Jean Prouvé, Peking the Beautiful, Newer Book picks and morehttp://blog.seattlepi.com/bookpatrol/2014/03/23/of-interest-book-burning-a-bad-library-idea-go-sees-riprap-jean-prouve-peking-the-beautiful-newer-book-picks-and-more/
Sun, 23 Mar 2014 23:10:54 +0000http://www.bookpatrol.net/?p=3768This week’s Of Interest takes us from a rare book on Peking to an anthology of one line poems to a collection of songs inspired by books with a sprinkling of newer books that have caught our fancy. First a few … Continue reading →

]]>Books on Wheels: A Global Jaunthttp://blog.seattlepi.com/bookpatrol/2014/03/08/books-on-wheels-a-global-jaunt/
Sun, 09 Mar 2014 01:49:24 +0000http://www.bookpatrol.net/?p=3589Antonio La Cava’s Ilbibliomotorcarro – Italy Recently we posted a photo on Tumblr of Antonio LaCava roaming around Italy in his three-wheel creation. It has turned out to be a very popular post so we thought we would expand it a … Continue reading →

In it she looks at the recent rise of the mini, pop-up, guerrilla and ad-hoc library and tries "to figure out where they’re coming from, how they relate to existing
institutions that perform similar roles, and what impact they’re having
on their communities."

"Nowadays we have libraries in phone booths and mailboxes, in public
parks and train stations, in vacant storefronts and parking lots" says Mattern

Mattern also covers the various mobile libraries that are operating around the world, many of which have been covered at book patrol over the years.

The People's Library, Zuccotti Park, New York City, November 12, 2011. [Photo by David Shankbone, via Flickr]

Mattern talks with nearly a dozen librarians from all parts of the library spectrum to get their take. Here are a few quotes:

In general, I find the phenomenon of pop-up or guerilla libraries to be a
good thing because they seem to spring from both a love of print media
and a DIY approach – two characteristics that I can relate to with my
own work at the Reanimation Library.... My biggest problem is that all
this has a tendency to water down the meaning of the word library. And at a time when many people are questioning the continued need for libraries, this is problematic. - Andrew Beccone founder of Reanimation Library

Pop-up libraries are "primarily about art and/or positive disruptions in
public space and as such [are] fundamentally different from
institutional libraries" - Melissa Morrone, librarian in New York.

Many urban residents, especially children, do not have easy access to
books and places to read outside of school. Bookstores are closing.
Public libraries in many cities are underfunded. Electronic
communication, video games, and online socializing are sapping more and
more of our attention. We seem to be losing touch with books at the very
moment, and in the very places, we need them the most. - from the website of The Uni: A Portable Reading Room for Public Space

One common denominator that ties all these noble efforts together is that they "have the seed of a utopian vision at heart."

However utopian these deeds are they "can't help but raise big and important questions
regarding the protocols of access, the ideals of knowledge and rules of
intellectual property, the health of public institutions, the viability
of public space and public life, and the definitions of civic values."

Today, right smack in the middle of National Library Week, is National Bookmobile Day! It's time to celebrate the more than 900 bookmobiles that roam our communities providing essential services to those facing economic, geographic, or physical challenges that prevent them from being able to visit a brick and mortar library.

Bookmobiles have a proud history of service dating back to the late
1850s, when a horse-drawn collection of books began making the rounds in
Cumbria, England. Here in the United States, the first bookmobile is
widely attributed to Mary Lemist Titcomb, a librarian in Washington
County, Maryland, who in 1905 posited “Would not a Library Wagon, the
outward and visible signs of the service for which the Library stood, do
much more in cementing friendship?”

Like much in the library world the bookmobile is in the midst of a transformation. Over the last few years "services have expanded to include new materials—computers, internet work stations, DVDs, video games, and even e-readers—and new programs, such as storytimes, career readiness, and English-language classes."

Build Your Own Bookmobile "Fun for schools, librarians, kids, adults, and bibliophiles -- because
you CAN'T make this on an iPad or a Kindle!" is how Bob Staake refers to
his 3-D crafty bookmobile. You simply print it out, fold at tabs, apply
a little glue and ...

The BiebBus: A Mobile Library for the Ages That's where the bookmobile or mobile library comes in and this one
might just take the cake. The Biebbus was specially designed for the
people of the densely populated and difficult to navigate Zaan region of
the Amsterdam ...

Biblioburro: Bookmobile Hoofs Books to Rural NooksBiblioburro: Bookmobile Hoofs Books to Rural Nooks. When hundreds of
children in the "abandoned regions" of the Colombian state of Magdalena
need reading material, a small fleet of bookmobiles makes an arduous
trek to ...The Rebirth of a BookmobileThat was all the impetus Tom Corwin needed, "By the end of dinner, I had
come up with this whole concept of buying the bookmobile myself, and
having authors join me, taking turns behind the wheel, and driving
across the ...

Bookmobile 2.0Welcome to the all new Digital Bookmobile, the world's first bookmobile
without books. This 18 wheeler is 69 feet long and packed with the
latest digital technologies. It was created by Over Drive to be used as
an outreach tool ...

Bookmobile HeavenBookmobile Heaven. Exile Bibliophile has a Flickr set of over 40 vintage
Bookmobile photos. All deserving of a spot in the big parking lot in
the sky. Another Flickr group Bookmobiles Parnassus on Wheels has more ...

Who Needs a Bookmobile?Here's the deal: The Seattle Public Library bought this roving library
three years ago to serve the various populations that can't easily get
to any of their 25 branches. Day care centers, assisted living
facilities and underserved ...

The Kenyan Literary ExpressThe actual Camel Bookmobile made its first run almost a decade ago.
Three dromedaries trudged through arid northeastern Kenya near the
unstable border with Somalia to bring a library to settlements so remote
they had ...

]]>The Knowledge Taxis of Cairohttp://blog.seattlepi.com/bookpatrol/2011/06/17/the-knowledge-taxis-of-cairo/
Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:20:00 +0000Egyptians on the whole are not big readers. So what's a bookstore to do to try and help shift the cultural attitudes toward books and get people reading?

Last year the ALEF Bookstores in Cairo came up with a brilliant idea. Since the streets of Cairo are in an almost continuous state of gridlock why not put books in the back of taxis so people can pass the time reading.

The initiative, called “Taxi of Knowledge,” launched with 50 cabs, each carrying 5 books.

Here's how it works:

All the books for the program have been donated.

The bookstore lends each taxi driver 5 books which they choose and can exchange at any time."Alef has tried to keep the books short so as not to intimidate readers. Books range from women’s health, to philosophy and comedy books. Some books are even about the revolution – whatever best suits the taxi driver and his passengers’ taste."

Aleph places review cards in each taxi that allows the passengers to comment on the book selection and the driver's knowledge of them. People can also comment on the taxi's cleanliness and other non-book related taxi issues. Each month the bookstore awards two drivers a prize based on the reviews.

The program has been an astounding success. The fleet of cabs driving around Cairo with books is now up to around 200. By the end of the year the program hopes to have 2000 cabs in the mix. There is also been some interest in creating a similar program for the city's buses.

Hopefully, now that the Arab Spring is in full bloom, it won't be long for all 30,000 or so private taxis on the streets of Cairo to be book enabled.